


through the valley

by kenobilovebot



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Gen, Grief, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi Dies, Revenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25966141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenobilovebot/pseuds/kenobilovebot
Summary: There is no death, there is only the Force. Or so they tell him. It has never felt that way to Anakin.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	1. i walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

and I fear no evil because I'm blind to it all.

There is no death. There is only the Force. 

Or so they tell him. 

It has never felt that way to Anakin. Not any of the times that Obi-Wan has gone missing, or lain bleeding in his arms in the field, or when he’s gotten a distress call from Commander Cody, or when Obi-Wan has been so still in the medbay, or --

Or when Obi-Wan actually dies.

When he bleeds out alone on some backwater planet and Anakin cannot even reach him through their bond, is powerless to do anything -- 

He had once sworn before his mother’s body that he would never be powerless like this again. 

This time, he means it.

They (the council and the healers) don’t want to let Anakin see Obi-Wan. That much is made obvious by their shifting unease, their troubled glances between themselves. 

In the end, something in his expression makes them let him in. He strides past them in silence. 

He does not know what he had expected, but somehow, it is not this. Obi-Wan lies so still on the table ( _ of course he’s still, you idiot, he’s dead,  _ Anakin berates himself), and he is not covered by the white sheet Anakin has often _ seen  _ covering the dead. 

His robes are faintly charred in places. It is easy to find the wound that had killed him, even without probing for it -- it is toward the center of his chest, a hole, the fabric stained red and the hole burnt around the edges… 

Anakin wants to throw up. 

Obi-Wan does not look as though he is sleeping. He has heard that said many times, and he has never found it true. 

He simply looks dead. 

His eyes are still half - open, and Anakin swallows against the bile that rises in his throat, can’t help but put a hand out to close them. It does not make him feel better. 

For some reason, he thinks that he should say something, perhaps stay here a little while, if only because some irrational part of him does not want Obi-Wan to be alone. 

In the end, he touches Obi-Wan’s hand. It is cold. He finds himself fighting not to recoil. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, and bolts from the room. 

At least they had parted on good terms, this time. One of those increasingly rare instances in which it had been with an embrace, a pat on the back. No glares or angry words. He is grateful for the little things. 

Anakin does not want to attend the funeral, but he has little choice in the matter. 

Throughout the ordeal, he is somehow entirely out of it and hyper aware of everything -- mostly Ahsoka and her worry bleeding through their bond, the way her hand keeps twitching at her side as though she wants to reach out and touch him, probably comfort him. He does not want her comfort. He is thinking. 

Later, he will be unsure if his fall had happened all at once, or if it was a gradual thing. 

When Padme returns to her apartment that evening, Anakin is there, but he has not come to stay the night with her, or to cry in her arms, or anything that she might have been expecting. He is only there to bid her goodbye. 

She starts toward him and then stops. He can tell that she is frightened by what she sees in his eyes.

“Tell Ahsoka that I’ll be in touch when it’s done.” Not that he’ll be back for her. He won’t. They will never let him back in the Order after this. “And that I’m sorry.” He isn’t, not in this moment, but he knows it is the right thing to say.

Padme opens and closes her mouth. It is clear that she wants to say a great many things, but she settles on, “Where are you going, Ani?” 

“I’m going to find them.” He is already moving toward the door. 

“And what then?” _ It won’t bring him back,  _ she doesn’t say. 

“I’m going to kill every last one of them.”


	2. my mind and my gun, they comfort me

My mind and my gun, they comfort me

Because I know I'll kill my enemies when they come.

“We have reason to believe that Knight Skywalker has gone after Obi-Wan’s killers.” 

A low murmur sweeps through the Council after Mace’s words, but it is not one of surprise. The Council has long been well aware of the attachment between the two. 

“Much anger, young Skywalker has always had.” Yoda’s ears droop faintly as he speaks. “Manifested in anger, I believe his distress has. Try, he will.” 

Silence, and then Plo asks, “Should we send someone after him? Has he taken Padawan Tano?” 

“Padawan Tano has remained here.” Mace spreads his hands. “She acknowledged that he is gone, and that he told her he would be in touch, but would not give me any further information. As for sending someone after him…” 

“The resources to spare, we do not have,” Yoda confirms. 

The Kel Dor sighs. “Perhaps…” But he trails off. There  _ is  _ no good answer. They all know it.

“The Jedi are spread too thin throughout the galaxy as it is.” Mace looks around at them. “We cannot send anyone to stop him. It is most likely that he will be expelled from the Jedi Order upon his return. We cannot condone this path.” 

In the end, it isn’t incredibly difficult to track down enough information. 

It’s true that there are many that bear ill will toward the Jedi, many that would have liked a chance to kill the famed Negotiator, if only to land a blow against the order, or to cripple the Republic in the war effort. 

It’s also true that Obi-Wan had been  _ loved.  _ Just as there are many that would have killed him, there are also more than enough citizens that had loved him once he’d become such a public figure. And once Anakin works out that he can use that to advantage, or offer a reward for information, it isn’t hard to get names. 

Some of it is likely just speculation, or petty revenge. Doesn’t matter. Anakin notes them all, will find a way to filter through them later. Right now, it doesn’t matter. 

Every last creature that had been involved with Obi-Wan’s death is going to die. 

Grogos Cairnu.

Hidha Tetsu.

Jae Dhur.

Lensi Sobill.

Sian Yovv. 

The list goes on. 

Motives mean little to him. There is no motive in the world that could be enough to justify killing Obi-Wan, and their fate will be just the same in the end, anyway. 

_ I will not fail you again, my master.  _

Sometimes, very late in the night, something in the back of his head asks him if this is what Obi-Wan would want. He knows the answer, and he crushes the thought before it can truly take root. He has committed to this; he will do this last thing for Obi-Wan. 

The lightsaber blazes to life to illuminate the face of the blue-skinned creature, throat crushed beneath Anakin’s boot. He is wheezing, fingers wrapped around Anakin’s ankle as though to pry him off, all to no avail. Anakin bares his teeth and grinds down harder. 

“Who…” he grits out, bringing the lightsaber closer, threatening. “Which one of your little bastard accomplices struck the killing blow?” 

That is the question most pressing, because that is who he will be going after last. 

He intends to allow them the knowledge that he is coming, and then to take his time with them, drawing it out -- 

It isn’t as if there is any particularly pressing reason for him to rush back to Coruscant, to a wife who is now afraid of him and a padawan who undoubtedly hates him for leaving. 

“Spit it out, or don’t. I’ve got all day to make you suffer, should you decide to try me.” 

The creature snarls up at him. He presses the molten blade to its shoulder, and that snarl turns into a wail. 

_ “Speak!”  _

A hiccuping sob, and the name spills forth. In an instant, Anakin has put his blade through the creature’s throat and finds himself rolling his eyes. Just little prodding and it becomes so _ easy.  _

When had he become this person?

One down. 

He’ll ask the same question of the next one too; verify the story before he makes any decisions. 

On his wrist, his comm link beeps, not for the first time. 

Without glancing down, he silences it, and very deliberately does not think about what he’s left behind at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would love to know what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> This was heavily inspired by TLOU part 2, and the title is the song from the trailer. I would love to know if you guys are interested in reading more of this. I do have a loose outline and a clear end in my head to go from here.


End file.
